


I'm No Hero

by PaintedYertle



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Exchange, AFTG Winter Exchange 2018, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Andrew's kind of awful for most of it, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, but don't worry they kiss and make up by the end, references to Neil's past, superhero au, the other foxes show up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-16 20:50:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16961226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintedYertle/pseuds/PaintedYertle
Summary: Neil thought he would never see the day Andrew Minyard would laugh manically.The Foxes are a team of reformed villains and henchmen, so it isn't much of a surprise to them when one of them slips back into old ways. It's up to Neil to tether Andrew back before he goes too far in the other direction.





	I'm No Hero

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BelaBellissima](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelaBellissima/gifts).



> Some warnings include references to Neil's canon past and physical abuse, mental and emotional manipulation via magic, the dreaded swear words, and a gross misrepresentation of subway systems. Past tense? Present tense? Who is she.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

         Neil thought the most recent hero-turned-villain report on the news and his constantly buzzing phone were unrelated at first. Initially he was somewhat relieved the signal drop quieted down his phone when he went down the stairs to take the underground route to avoid muddy slush and black ice that snowfall brings to the city. He also thought nothing of the gathering crowd around the muted TVs as he waited at the stop. Civilians love the gossip surrounding hero-villain turns, and are skeptical of any attempts at redemption.

         At first he only read the text on screen to know who he had to fight next. Then he saw the mask.

         The golden metal mask was not recognized from any well-known rogues gallery, but Neil knew better. He last saw that mask in his Captain’s collection of treasures. It was taken from a run-of-the-mill power seeker, but held magic properties none of them were certain how to tap into without losing control. It always glowed strange colors whenever Neil entered the room so he never wanted to go near it. The last person to wear that mask required two of his team members to take down. The man currently on screen was five-feet even and didn’t bother to hide his blonde hair. There was a gold aura around his body.

         The screen was silent but Neil thought he would never see the day Andrew Minyard would laugh manically.

         Neil wanted to head home, but he knew he had to return to the Tower. The moment he returned above ground his phone blew up with messages again. All of them were from his teammates, ranging from shock to planning their next move to declarations they knew this would happen all along.

         The last time Neil saw Andrew he made him promise to protect Kevin if the Ravens ever returned for him. The Foxes often spoke with double meaning, but he didn’t predict this.

         It wasn’t too different from the texts once Neil reached The Tower. He heard the infighting the moment the door opened. The Foxes were a team of reformed villains and henchmen. It wasn’t simple for them to get along under the best of circumstances. Neil had been on the team for more than a year, and they were aware he was a child of a villain, though only Kevin was aware of his paternal villains status. Neil inherited shape-shifting powers from his mother, which he used when fighting and when he hid his scars. Right now he allowed his blue eyes but kept his dark brown hair. That was his second mask, in its own way.

         The situation had to be dire if Aaron was sitting at the table. Aaron isn’t quite retired from his mask, but he has since transfered his life-saving skills to med school he only goes back to his roots when he feels needed. He didn’t seem to be in the mood for arguing, while Nicky kept defending Andrew.

         Renee was biting her lip and kept her hands folded over her skirt. Neil didn’t know how to talk to her without Andrew around. Neil knew they were all waiting for him to say something because he was closest with Andrew, but said nothing for now.

         “Enough!” Kevin said to interrupt the fighting. He was still wearing his hero outfit but not his mask. Dan was still Captain, and Kevin seemed to forget that at times, but she allowed him to keep going. “We saw this coming. We should have prevented this, but for now all we can do is prevent him from harming civilians.”

         As far as Neil was aware, Andrew hadn’t actually harmed anyone. He caused panic and distress in a public area. That alone raised some flags for Neil. Andrew wouldn’t want the attention a supervillain status would bring him. His previous “villain” status before joining the Foxes was the less romantic type of crime like picking fights and stealing things. He never stole magical treasures. Unless Neil didn’t even know the man he was steadily but surely falling for.

         The meeting ended on a night patrol decision. Nicky, Matt, and Dan decided to head out. It meant Neil had to walk back to the subway. During a snowstorm. Again.

         It was dark by the time Neil left the Tower. It being a city, the ground was too warm for the snow to pile up, but it clung to Neil’s hair and jacket. His jacket was a Christmas gift from Nicky which matched Andrew’s. Neil pulled his thoughts away from that and the hood over his head to focus on crossing the streets. Andrew’s powers were physical invincibility, so if he crossed into traffic without looking he could get hit by a car without getting a scratch. Neil’s powers would only hide the injuries.

         When Neil was able to get out from the snow and underground he hopped over the turnstile this time. He forgot to fill money into his card since he wasn’t supposed to be making two trips to begin with. He’ll make Kevin pay him for the inconvenience, and then tell him it’s more than it actually is.

         The TV’s were still on in the subway, but the crowds were not as big as they were before to watch them. Neil stared back at the muted footage onscreen. The text scrolling on the bottom was still calling Andrew “Impervious” as his villain title. He would usually catch a gleam in Andrew’s dull expression when a wannabe thief would try to physically harm him, and he would reply with “I am Impervious”. Neil felt like punching Andrew for many reasons at the moment, but he’s kicking himself now for getting Andrew to convince him to change his hero name from “Blur” to “Enigma”.

         Neil stared up at the mask on the screen as if it could look back at him. He could see Andrew’s uncharacteristic wide smile behind it. As far a Neil and the other Foxes knew, the mask had no consciousness of its own. The magic it had was able to control the emotions and impulses of others. If this was part of Andrew’s plan, what was his end goal?

         Then at that very moment, something hit Neil. It wasn’t something physical. As a superhero, Neil could recognize psychic pulses. But before he could rationalize where it was coming from, and an instinctual terror rushed through his veins. Suddenly he had that same feeling he recalled when his mother gripped his arm too hard when yanking him into a crowd they couldn’t be seen in. He was in the backseat of a car going 60mph he knew he had to force himself to jump out of. He was in the passenger seat of a car speeding away from his father’s previous location, and his mother nearly veered off the road from her injuries. He’s younger than eleven and in a room with his father.

         Neil turned around but no one was standing there. His brain was screaming that someone had to be. He startled when a subway car on the opposite side from the one Neil was waiting for sped past. It didn’t have a stop here, so the windows had a film frame like quality to it. He could see some faces in there, and a flash of a familiar mask.

         Then it was gone, and with it the fear. Neil’s heart was pounding. He didn’t know if it was from the possibility of seeing Andrew or if he was about to have an anxiety attack. He stumbled to the nearest bench and placed his head between his legs. There were a handful of people standing near the yellow dotted line, but they didn’t appear to see what Neil saw. The smell of grime and dust made of the area replaced the smell of blood and smoke made of memory. Neil hated dealing with this alone.

         Luckily, the feeling passed and his heart steadied. Neil sat up to assess what just happened. Neil never had to fight people who wore that mask before, so he was never on the receiving end of its power.

         “Oh.” Neil said to himself. At first he was relieved he wasn’t in danger. Then the fear was replaced with rage that he was forced to feel the danger in the first place. “Oh, fuck you.” Neil stood up and stormed to the yellow line. “FUCK YOU!”

         His voice echoed into the tunnel. All others there glanced up, then ignored him again. Neil didn’t know if what just happened was a threat or instigation, but it was definitely something that Andrew did. It could be some type of trap, but when Neil was angry he forgoes the details in favor of getting back at someone.

         Neil stopped in his tracks. Andrew couldn’t be expecting Neil to go after him. That subway car sped past him and is on its way somewhere else. Andrew knew Neil’s powers to be shapeshifting, so there was only so much he could predict he could do. The fear was only a threat that couldn’t be retaliated against. He rushed to a map located on the wall next to an ad for a streaming service. Neil searched for the correct route and memorized how many stops were after this one. He stretched out his legs.

         Neil considered rushing down the next few blocks and looking for the stop itself. Instead he jumped right down into the tracks.

         As soon as Neil landed he could the people on the platform finally reacted, but their voices were gone once Neil shifted into a different speed. His sneakers were going to be ruined. It was dark and dirty and his eyes had to adjust from light to darkness. He hardly cared. Neil only kept his eyes out for the bright lights of the subway car.

         Neil’s father had a separate set of powers. The Butcher of Baltimore liked his kills to last, but when his bosses needed the job done he could be sure the person was dead before they even knew it. One run-in with him was an in-and-out job. Neil’s mix of powers could be used to make him into a potential weapon, and a detriment when his mother decided to take him and run.

         He knew for a fact that Andrew wouldn’t be in the first car. He couldn’t know which one, but guessed one of the ones in the middle. He ignored the other people on there with petty anger, knowing if they thought he was some type of villain and stopped the car it would be an advantage for him. He stormed in and was halfway through the third car when he recognized the blonde tufts of hair sticking out of a hood over someone’s head.

         Of course Andrew chose the third car.

         Andrew never looked surprised, and his mask-less face wasn’t currently twisted into a smile the way it was on the news. He only looked like Andrew, the one Neil knew. He was wearing the matching Christmas coat over his hoodie.

         “Andrew!” Neil screamed.

         He pointed to Andrew and approached him, then took notice of the other people in the car. It wasn’t many, but one was a parent with a child holding a pink fox plush.

         “This is unexpected.” Andrew rose from his seat. He flipped down his hood, and Neil took notice of the backpack he was wearing, “Haven’t I told you that I don’t like surpr-”

         Neil swiped his leg under Andrew’s feet before he could finish.

         Normally it would be more difficult to knock Andrew down (his hero name was “The Wall” before he switched it) but Neil sped up his kick. Andrew collapsed and his arm caught himself on the seats. He looked up at Neil from the ground, appearing like he was piecing together between what happened and the new pain in his arm. Neil could see the armband underneath his sleeve, meaning he had to be on the lookout for knives.

         The subway came to a hard stop, making Neil almost fall forward. He managed to keep his balance and not fall on top of Andrew, but Andrew took the chance to tackle Neil.

         _Please stay clear of the yellow line,_ the speakers played.

         Neil tripped back as his back slammed on the floor. It was a close feeling to when he first met Andrew, but he tried not to think on that. He looked up to see Andrew staring down at him. His face was the one Neil knew best: mouth calm and eyes calculating. It made him think both he and Andrew had questions for each other.

         He spotted a few passengers run off as soon as the door opened. People at the stop were glancing in expecting a regular fight.

         “And just when I thought you were running out of secrets,” Andrew said, “How many more do you have in that pretty little head of yours?”

         Neil managed to knee Andrew in the stomach. It couldn’t have hurt, but it gave Neil enough space to crawl back. He tried to stand but Andrew grabbed his leg and pulled him down again. The doors closed and the subway moved forward again. He knew that Andrew would try to get off the car at some point. It was like the world’s worst SAT question, and Neil never even needed his SAT’s to get into college.

         “Fuck off, Andrew,” Neil said, just to be sure Andrew heard him this time.

         “I was trying to, but then you had to go and make your dramatic entrance.” Andrew said.

         Neil tried to speed-punch Andrew in the shoulder. Andrew blocked it this time and, yes, Neil could feel the solid metal under the sleeve. Ow.

         “Interesting.” Andrew said, not sounding very interested. Neil pulled his hand back, trying not to wince and managed to wrestle his leg out of Andrew’s grip. He moved back to one of the poles to try and hold himself up. He could see there was only one other civilian left way back in the car with them.

         “You’re going to tell me what’s going on with you,” Neil said to Andrew, “If someone or something is forcing you into this, I might be a little less mad about you screwing around with my emotions. But barely.”

         “Oh, Neil,” Andrew said, “I expect more from you than to be so naïve. I’ve never aligned myself with anyone or anything. The Foxes were just a place for me to bide my time.”

         “That isn’t true. Why would you protect Kevin from the Ravens otherwise? You’ve saved people. You’re a hero. One of us.”

         The corner of Andrew’s lip twitched. He must have genuinely thought that was funny. Neil had seen that before, and back then he thought it was a sign of healing. Andrew stood up again, keeping balance on the moving car.

         “I should have known you didn’t have the sense to be afraid of me.” Andrew said.

         There was a great deal Neil could say to that. About their keys, their protection, their trust. But now wasn’t the time so he kept his mouth shut. Neil could see that the far-end passenger was starting to film the fight with their phone. The moment Neil looked away, Andrew reached back in his backpack and pulled out the oh-too-familiar mask. He didn’t put it on at first, but merely touching it created an aura.

         “Leave,” Andrew commanded, and Neil watched as a violet aura grew around the other person. The subway came to a stop again, and he dropped the phone as he ran off the train. Andrew took one step to the door, and Neil reacted by kicking up on a seat, then spinning around the pole to kick Andrew square in the chest. It didn’t do much damage, but Andrew still stumbled back. Every second mattered as the door closed.

         Andrew glared at Neil. He still held the mask in his fingers by the eyeholes. Neil braced himself for another bout of fear, but instead that gold aura from the news rose all around Andrew’s skin. A smile grew on Andrew’s face lie a weed.

         “Why are you even surprised when this is what you’ve all always expected of me?” Andrew said, then brought the mask over his face. He let out a cackle. Neil had seen it happen on TV but it hurt to hear it up close and in person. “Wow, Neil, you should see your face right now! It’s the look of a man who just lost a large bet. How much money do the Foxes have riding on me?”

         Neil gripped harder on the pole and tried his best to keep his head clear.

         “Andrew,” Neil said, knowing more than anyone how names had a special power of their own, “Not wanting to be a hero doesn’t mean you have to turn evil. You don’t even need to use your powers. Your brother didn’t need-”

         “Blah blah blah!” Andrew cried, “Blah bah blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah black sheep have-you-any-wool.” Andrew’s hand became twitchy. He was swaying, and it might not have just been because of the train. He looked too giddy and not all there. Neil wasn’t sure how much of this was a side effect of the mask. “The Foxes really have rubbed off on you if you talk like them. But then again, mimicking is your thing.”

         Andrew rushed up to Neil, and he had to let go of the pole to back away. Neil had never fought Andrew in combat before. He didn’t know how much of an advantage he could have when Andrew was this unhinged.

         “Fuck you,” Neil said. Andrew looked like he had a response to that but Neil interrupted him, “If you aren’t being controlled or manipulated, I want to know the real reason you made the choice to steal that mask and alarm the public. That isn’t like you.”

         “I’m crazy, or don’t you recall?” Andrew let out another laugh, “Perhaps it was all one elaborate joke in my warped mind.”

         “You can’t expect me to believe you lied to so many people for so long for a joke.”

         “Who’s the liar here when you probably have more than one secret identity?”

         Neil clamped his mouth shut. White and yellow lights were passing outside the windows, and Neil wished there would be a stop soon for an opportunity to shove Andrew to the ground.

         “Choose your next words carefully, because you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

         “I have more than enough reason to be afraid of you. And the Foxes will too once they know the danger you’ve brought to them. I don’t trust you, and no one ever should.”

         Neil felt he urge to call Andrew a son of a bitch, but Andrew was immune to that particular insult and Neil was getting too angry to think up a new one. He was well aware Andrew didn’t like to be touched, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to punch him. He sped forward and grabbed Andrew’s jacket.

         “I’m not afraid of you,” Neil said, “You’re right about that.”

         Somehow Andrew’s smile widened behind the mask. Neil turned and slammed Andrew against a window.

         “You gave me a key to your apartment,” Neil said, “And you say you don’t trust me? Now you’re doing everything in your power to break my trust? By sending me into a flashback while I’m alone?” Neil’s hands gripped harder onto Andrew’s jacket, “Is encouraging me to be your enemy really in your best interest?”

         Neil leaned forward, and that’s when he saw the reflection in the mask. He was so busy studying the face behind it he almost didn’t notice. Red wisps were clinging on his arms. Neil could take a guess what that color meant.

         That’s right. Andrew preferred defense to offense. He liked weakening the supervillains they fought with mind games until Kevin or Neil or the rest of the team took them down. Andrew was just pushing him to his limits.

         The car stopped again with more force this time. From where the two were standing, propped against a window, it lobbed them to the side. Neil had to let go of Andrew with one hand to keep from crashing while the other hung on. He thought he would have to keep Andrew from running out the door, but when he looked out the window both sides were just rocky walls. The subway had halted before its next stop. Neil couldn’t know if it was their fighting or the snowstorm that caused it, but they were stuck for now. While he was looking, Andrew shoved Neil to the floor.

         When Neil tried to stand up, that mask looked down at him.

         “Should I give you another chance to leave?” Andrew asked, “Or have you not learned yet?”

         In one moment, the red over Neil was replaced with a deep blue hue. It didn’t take long to guess what that would trigger.

         After Neil burned the car with his mother in it, he only reacted to it when his body forced him to. Like everything else, he stored his emotional response away to deal with later/possibly never. He had repeated this process before from every physical scrape to gash as well as every insult to threat to his life. It all clung together until his repressed trauma formed a hornet nest, and Andrew was kicking it apart.

         On a rational level, Neil knew it was the magic from the mask messing with his mind. But that didn’t stop him from thinking _Mom_.

         Andrew hadn’t laid a finger on Neil, but he couldn’t get up from the floor anymore. Andrew climbed up on a seat to gain higher ground.

         “Just leave already,” Andrew said, “Just hate me. You’ll learn how, eventually.”

         Neil wanted to, had to, say something back, but he had to use all of his mental and emotional energy to keep from breaking down. He doubted Andrew was even aware of what he just triggered. His goal seemed to be either to incapacitate or scare Neil away, but every grip in his hair and every protective glare and every quiet space he and his mother shared was rising to the surface of his mind. It wasn’t long before there was a sting in his eyes, and he hadn’t recalled that since she sat beside him after his beatings.

         He couldn’t run from this. He was so, so screwed.

         Neil tried his best to think of anything that wasn’t his mother but the blue hue wouldn’t let him get very far. If Andrew got away, he might go to the Ravens just like he was asked to all those years ago, or some other villain organization. Neil never wished to “leash” Andrew or control his life, but he did always think he earned and deserved better. Neil would know it wasn’t his fault but he would blame-

         Wait.

         That would upset him.

         “Andrew,” Neil said. His voice didn’t sound right, but he kept going, “I don’t want you to leave.”

         Andrew didn’t respond for once. Maybe he was ignoring him, or maybe he was letting Neil’s state of mind speak for itself. Yet that smile was still frozen there.

         “You think I’m not pissed right now? You played with my fucking head and toyed with my emotions. But you can’t convince me you’re evil. You brought Aaron and Nicky to the Foxes when they needed it most. You protected Kevin. You helped me. You just wanted to run away, and I can understand that. But you shouldn’t force yourself to be a hero or villain.  You didn’t harm anyone.”

         Neil rose to his knees, and he didn’t feel like he was actually crying, just that it was all being forced out of him. He grabbed onto a pole and lifted himself up to his feet.

         “Andrew,” Neil said, “Don’t go. Stay. Come home.”

         “Don’t look at me like that.” Andrew finally said, his hands forming into fists, “I will ruin you if you keep staring at me with those eyes.”

         “I have a support system. I’ll be okay. What happens if you ruin yourself?”

         Andrew jumped off the seats, making his boots pound on the floor. In his current state, Neil startled at the sound.

         “You’d be so cute if you weren’t so infuriating.” Andrew said, “You think you can dress up your words all pretty and that will get people to listen?”

         Neil tightened his jaw. The blue aura faded from his skin. The gold aura was still on Andrew.

         “I’m not the only one who thinks that.” Neil said. He wiped his face with his sleeve. “Your cousin is looking for you right now. Your brother came back to the tower because he’s worried.”

         “They’d do that because they know me. They recognize the danger very well.”

         The train chose that particular moment to start moving again. Now Neil knew he had little time to convince Andrew of anything. He couldn’t fight, and he couldn’t be too intimidating when his eyes were likely pink.

         “You’ve told me, consistently, that you can’t stand to be around villains.” Neil said.

         “Maybe I just wanted a change of scenery.”

         Neil took a chance by letting go of the pole and stepped closer to Andrew. “Don’t misdirect me. We both know that isn’t true.”

         Andrew’s hand moved up to his mask. He brought it down only enough to expose his eyes and cover his mouth. Andrew’s eyes were the kind of hazel that could appear either red or gold in the right lighting.

         “Are you really going to stop me? What happened to your self preservation?”

         “If you’re choosing to threaten me or someone else, stopping you is my self preservation.”

         He didn’t answer. The moment the car halted and the doors opened he started walking.

         “Andr-” A knife whirled past before he could finish. It was a large distance between him and the weapon, where it landed on a poster a few feet away.

         “I am Impervious.” Andrew said, with his mask completely off and smile gone, “Nothing and no one can touch me.”

         Neil allowed Andrew to walk away, and it wasn’t long before the doors closed again. Neil pulled the knife embedded in the face of a shaving ad out and stuffed it in his messenger bag. He got off at the very next stop, very far from where he intended to go. He managed not to get too lost given that he got on the entirely wrong train going in the opposite direction. Neil tried speeding his way home, but halfway there he slipped on ice and crashed down on the concrete. The impact of the fall was the last straw for the night, and Neil took his meltdown out on a nearby trashcan. This was one of the many reasons Neil kept his speed powers a secret.

         The next day, Neil didn’t tell the others he saw Andrew. He kept the knife hidden and chose to wait to see what would happen next. Time passed and the patrols went on, but there were no signs apart from the usual villains.

         Then one night Neil opened the door to his apartment and smelled cigarette smoke coming from the inside. He steeled himself when he walked in, seeing Andrew smoking at the window and his mask on the kitchen table. He had the courtesy to keep the window open, but it still let the cold air in.

         “You gave me a key too,” Andrew said, “I’m not here to fight, if that’s what you’re thinking. Even I get tired of it.”

         Neil stepped away to grab a broom, then used the handle to push the mask far, far down the table away from himself and Andrew.

         “Why are you here?” Neil asked. Andrew didn’t answer for the moment, “You still have the option to return to the Foxes, y’know.”

         Andrew pulled the cigarette away from his lips. The thin line of smoke was caressing shapes around his face.

         “I don’t believe you.”

         Neil set the broom down at the nearest wall, then took a chair to sit at the table. He had cigarettes in his bag but he didn’t feel like reaching for them now. He placed his hands between his knees and took in the scent instead.

         “Why don’t we play the honesty game again?” Neil asked. Andrew still said nothing. “You don’t even need to participate. I’ll give you my own truth.”

         That seemed to nudge at Andrew’s interest. Neil of all people knew how valuable that was to obtain.

         “And how will I know if it’s even real?” Andrew asked.

         Neil took a breath, then shifted into his real skin with the scars. There was no way to dispute this truth, even if Andrew wasn’t aware of every part of its true meaning like his new hair color.

         “My father is the Butcher of Baltimore.”

         Andrew had no big reaction, though Neil knew he had sped past his interest right to his attention. Andrew stood up and looked down at Neil.

         “You can touch them if you think they’re not real.” Neil said.

         Andrew’s free hand hovered over Neil’s hands, where he had healed pale scars. Andrew had to have been here for some time, because his hands had warmed up while Neil's were still chilled. Neil reached for Andrew’s wrist and gently pulled it over his abdomen. It was a hoard of where most of his scars resided. He felt Andrew’s palm tense and then relax. His fingers started to explore the dips and raised skin. Feeling the palm rub over his abdomen muscles, Neil hoped Andrew couldn’t feel his entire body becoming warmer.

         “I haven’t earned this truth.” Andrew said.

         “Would you be willing to give me one?”

         Andrew pressed his hand against Neil’s chest at that. He pushed Neil to the back of the chair, then pressed his lips onto his. Neil knew he didn’t feel like fighting when he walked into the room, and at the sweet taste of Andrew’s truth, he especially didn’t now. The light from the window was getting in his eye, so he allowed them to flutter shut. He felt the chair tilt back slightly. He brought one of his hands up to Andrew’s shirt, and that’s when Andrew yanked his entire body back.

         Neil’s heart skipped a beat when his chair fell forward and the legs slammed on the hardwood floor. His eyes were wide open now, his heart beating faster for separate reasons than a moment ago. The cigarette was still between Andrew’s fingers.

         “Staring-”

         “Shut your fucking mouth.” Andrew said with more heat than usual, “You’d want this?”

         Neil wished he could have the perfect answer for that. Until now, he was never certain Andrew wanted this.

         “There’s a this?” Neil asked.

         Andrew opened his mouth, and he looked the opposite of speechless, where he had five different answers on his mind but all of them strangling him with the urge to strangle Neil.

         “I’m really going to kill you one of these days.” Andrew managed to say.

         Neil stood up from the chair and took a step towards Andrew. Andrew took a step back.

         “Why did you come here, Andrew?”

         Andrew looked like he still had difficulty putting all the words in the right place. “You weren’t supposed to do that.”

         For someone who never seemed “interested” in anything, Andrew had planned for things by every detail. But if or when any detail went out of place, he became out of step and didn’t have the time to rearrange it where he wanted. In that sense, he had that in common with the villains.

         “You mean I was supposed to reject you.” That finally shut Andrew up, where he neither confirmed or denied, “Andrew-”

         “Stop calling me that.”

         Neil gestured at his own body, “I thought you would reject me too, after you saw these.”

         “If you thought those would scare me off you really don’t know who you’re talking to.”

         “Not that, but how I got them. You didn’t know you were ‘really’ talking to until a moment ago.” Neil swallowed hard, “I will never become them as long as I can help it. I don’t think I’m a hero, but I like where I am now. I’m aware we’re adults and it isn’t black and white, but if you ever go down that path, I won’t follow after you. I can only keep asking you to come back. I can’t force you to do anything, but I’d like you to stay.”

         Andrew was still stoic, but he looked like those words were effecting him. “The others won’t share your sentiment.”

         “Like I told you, Nicky and Aaron are worried for you.”

         “And the rest?”

         “I can convince them. They’d prefer it if you stayed on our side too.”

         “You think you can convince anyone of anything, can you? Is that another power you’re hiding?”

         “You only caused a public disturbance. It’s not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of our work.”

         “ _Only_ , he says.”

         “You might as well stay here until then, if you’re going to barge in anyway.”

         Andrew walked up to Neil and pointed in his face. “You shouldn’t show so much courtesy to someone who hurt you so much. You shouldn’t be fine with someone coming onto you without your permission.”

         “Okay. Andrew, would you like to kiss me again? Yes or no?”

         Andrew’s lips pursed together in a line. “I hate you. Yes.”

         Andrew grabbed Neil’s neck and kissed him desperately. Neil was about to melt into it, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye and pulled away.

         “That damn mask is glowing again.” Neil said.

         “It does that. It poses no threat as long as no one is wearing it.”

         “Then why is it glowing?”

         “It senses the emotions of those-“ Andrew seemed to be cut off when he saw the color it was emitting. “Never mind.”

         Andrew turned Neil’s face back to his own and kissed him again. It melted his thoughts away from his worries, his cares, and the mask’s magenta shade.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually had part of this in my WIPs for a while and was thinking of dropping this idea until it got prompted for the Exchange. Even tough I'm not too familiar with superhero comics or even other AFTG hero AUs so if anything seems off...ignore me lol.


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